CHAS  EOGtV<ORTH  lONtS 
AUGUSTA 


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/   (3  "^ycTiJCj.  (yrr 


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c  o  N  s  T 1 T  r  r  I  o  n 


(IF  THE 


CONFEDERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


ADOPTED  UNANIMOUSLY 


BY   THE 


rONGRESS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 
MARCH  11,  ISO  1. 


MILLEDGEVILLE: 

HOrrjHTON.  NISBET  &  BARNES, 

STATE  PRINTERS. 

1S61. 


TEN  THOUSAND  COPIES  ORDERED  BY  THE 
GEORGIA     STATE     CONVENTION 


CONSTITUTION 


OF   THK 


ConfcWr^itc  Sliitrs  of  2^iiurint. 


We,  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States,  each  State 
acting  in  its  sovereign  and  independent  character,  in  order 
to  form  a  permanent  federal  government,  establish  justice, 
insure  domestic  tranquility  and  secure  the  blessings  of  lib- 
erty to  ourselves  and  our  posterity — invoking  the  favor  and 
guidance  of  Almighty  God — do  ordain  and  establish  this 
Constitution  for  the  Confederate  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  T. 

Section  1. 

All  legislative  powers  lierein  delegated  shall  be  vested  in 
a  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States,  which  shall  consist  of 
a  Senate  and  House  of  lle})rcsentatives. 

Sectiox  2. 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of 
members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the 
several  States;  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  be  citi- 
zens of  the  Confederate  States,  and  have  the  qualifications 
requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
♦State  Legislature;  but  no  person  of  fon-ign  birth,  not  a  cit- 
izen of  the  Gonfederatr  Slates,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for 
any  officer,  civil  or  political,  State  or  Federal. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative,  who  shall  not 
Jiave  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  be  a  citizen 
•of  the  Confederate  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected, 
be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 


■J.  Representatives  and  Direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  wliich  may  be  included  within  this 
Confederacy,  according  to  their  res^^ective  numbers,  which 
shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  tlie  whole  number  of  free 
persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years, 
and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  slaves. 
The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  5''ears 
after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate 
States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in 
such  manner  as  they  shall,  by  law,  direct.  The  number  of 
Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  fifty  thousand, 
but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  Representative;  and 
until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  six;  the  State  of  Geor- 
gia ten;  the  State  of  Alabama  nine;  the  State  of  Florida 
two ;  the  State  of  Mississippi  seven ;  the  State  of  Louisiana 
six;  and  the  State  of  Texas  six. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any 
State,  the  Executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of 
election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  ol  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speak- 
er and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  tlie  sole  power  of  im- 
peachment; except  that  any  judicial  or  other  federal  officer, 
resident  and  acting  solely  within  the  limits  of  any  State, 
may  be  impeached  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  branches^ 
of  tlie  Legislature  thereof. 

Section  o. 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  Confederate  States  sliall  be  com- 
posed of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  for  six  years 
by  the  legislature  thereof,  at  the  regular  session  next  imme- 
diately preceding  the  comnKnu^ement  of  the  term  of  ser- 
vice; and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally 
as  may  be  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of 
the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  sec- 
ond year;  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth 
year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth 
year;  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year; 
and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during 


the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive 
thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next 
meeting  of  tlie  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  va- 
cancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  at- 
tained the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  be  a  citizen  of  the  Con- 
federate States;  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an 
inhabitant  of  the  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be 
President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they 
be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers  ;  and  also 
a  President /)ro  tempore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President, 
or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  Presidoit  of  the  Con- 
federate States. 

0.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  im- 
peachments. When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be 
on  oath  or  affirmation.  AVhen  the  President  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside ;  and  no 
person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to 
liold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust  or  profit,  under  the 
Confederate  States;  but  the  party  convicted  shall,  never- 
theless, be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment 
and  punishment  according  to  law. 

Section  4. 

1.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
Senators  and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each 
State  by  the  Legislature  thereof,  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  this  Constitution  ;  but  the  Congress  may,  at  any  time,  by 
law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  times 
and  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  .-issemble  at  least  once  in  every 
year;  and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  iii 
December,  unless  they  shall,  by  law,  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  5. 

1.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  eh-ctions,  returns 
and  qualifications  of  its  own   members,  and  a  majority  of 


6 

each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  tlo  business;  but  a  smaller 
number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  clay,  and  may  be  author- 
ized to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such 
manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  pro- 
vide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceed- 
ings, punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with 
the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number,  expel 
a  member. 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts 
as  may,  in  their  judgment,  require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and 
nays  of  the  members  of  either  House,  on  any  question,  shall, 
at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the 
journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall 
without  the  consent  of  the  othe  •,  adjourn  for  more  than 
three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the 
two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6. 

1.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  com- 
pensation tor  their  services  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and 
paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Confederate  States.  They 
shall,  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the 
peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at 
the  session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in 
either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other 
place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time 
for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office 
under  the  authority  of  the  Confederate  States,  which  shall 
have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have 
been  increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  Confederate  States  shall  be  a  member  of 
either  House  during  his  continuance  in  office.  But  Con- 
gress may,  by  law,  grant  to  the  principal  officers  in  each  of 
the  Executive  Departments  a  seat  upon  the  floor  of  either 
House,  with  the  privilege  of  discussing  any  measures  apper- 
taining to  his  department. 


Section  7. 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  tlie 
House  of  Kepresentatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or 
concur  with  aniondments  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both  Jlouses,  sliall 
before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of 
the  Confederate  States;  if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it;  but 
if  not,  he  shall  return  it  with  his  objections  to  tliat  House 
in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  ob- 
jections at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider 
it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House 
shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with 
the  objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  like- 
wise be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of 
that  House,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases, 
the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determfiied  by  yeas  and 
nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against 
the  bill,  shall  be  entered  on  the  iournal  of  each  House 
respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  r#(urned  by  the 
President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall 
have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in 
like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress,  by 
their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return ;  in  which  case  it 
shall  not  be  a  law.  The  President  may  approve  any  ap- 
propriation and  disapprove  any  other  appropriation  in  the 
same  bill.  In  such  case  he  shall,  in  sigoing  the  bill,  desig- 
nate the  appropriations  disapproved ;  and  shall  return  a 
copy  of  such  appropriations,  with  his  objections,  to  the 
House  in  which  ihv  bill  shall  have  oiiginatrd  ;  and  the 
same  proceedings  shall  then  be  had  as  in  case  of  other  bills 
disapproved  by  the  President. 

3.  Every  onler,  resolution  or  vote,  to  whirli  the  con- 
currence of  both  Houses  maybe  necesNary  (except  on  a 
•[uestion  of  adjoiirnment)  shall  be  ])resentec(  to  tiie  Presi- 
dent of  the  Confederate  States:  and  before  the  same  shall 
take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him;  or  being  disapproved 
by  him,  shall  be  re-passed  by  two-thirds  of  both  Houses 
according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  case  of 
a  bill. 


Section  8. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts  and  excises, 
for  revenue  necessary  to  pay  the  debts,  provide  for  the 
common  defence,  and  carry  on  the  Government  of  the 
Confederate  States  ;  but  no  bounties  shall  be  granted  from 
the  treasury ;  nor  shall  any  duties  or  taxes  on  importations 
from  foreign  nations  be  laid  to  promote  or  foster  any 
branch  of  industry ;  and  all  duties,  imposts  and  excises 
shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  Confederate  States : 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  Confederate 
States: 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and 
among  the  several  States,  and  with  tlie  Indian  tribes ;  but 
neither  this,  nor  any  other  clause  contained  in  the  consti- 
tution, shall  ever  be  construed  to  delegate  the  power  to 
Congress  to  appropriate  money  for  any  internal  improve- 
ment intended  to  facihtate  commerce  ;  except  for  the  pur- 
pose of  furnishii]g  lights,  beacons  and  buo3'S,  and  other  ^ds 
to  navigation  upon  tlie  coasts,  and  the  improvement  of 
harbors,  and  the  removing  of  obstructions  in  river  naviga- 
tion, in  all  which  cases,  such  duties  shall  be  laid  on  the 
navigation  facilitated  thereby,  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay 
the  costs  and  expenses  thereof : 

4.  To  establish  uniform  laws  of  naturalization,  and  uni- 
form laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the 
Confederate  States  ;  but  no  law  of  Congress  shall  discharge 
any  debt  contracted  before  the  passage  of  the  same  : 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  of 
foreign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  : 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the 
securities  and  current  coin  of  the  Confederate  States  : 

7.  To  establish  post  offices  and  post  routes  ;  but  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Post  Office  Department,  after  the  first  day  of 
JNIarch,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  shall  be  paid  out  of  its  own  revenues : 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  sc-ience  and  useful  arts, 
by  securing  for  limited  times,  to  authors  and  inventors, 
the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and  dis- 
coveries : 


9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court : 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  commit- 
ted on  the  higli  seas,  and  offences  ai^ainst  tlie  hiw  of  nations  : 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  nianpie  and  repri- 
sal, and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water  : 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies  ;  but  no  appropriation 
of  money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two 
years : 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  : 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of 
the  land  and  naval  forces  : 

lo.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute 
the  laws  of  the  Confederate  t?tates,  suppress  insurrections, 
and  repel  invasions : 

10.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming  and  disciplining 
the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  maybe 
employed  in  the  service  of  tlie  Confederate  States  ;  reserv- 
ing to  the  States,  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the 
officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according 
to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress  : 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatso- 
ever, over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  ns 
may,  b}"  cession  of  one  or  more  States,  and  the  acceptance 
of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the 
Confederate  States  ;  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over 
all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  in  wliich  the  sanu?  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of 
forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  ;nid  othei'  needful 
buildings :  and 

15.  To  n)ak('  all  laws  which  shall  he  necessary  and 
proper  for  <*arrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers, 
and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the 
government  of  the  Confederate  States,  or  in  any  depart- 
ment or  officer  thereof. 

Section  !». 
1.  The  importation  of  negroes  of  the  African  race,  from 
any  foreign  country,  other  than  the  slaveholding  States  or 
Territories  of  the  United  States  of  America,  is  hereby  for- 
bidden; and  (Congress  is  re((uired  to  pass  such  laws  as  shall 
effectually  prevent  the  same. 


10 

2.  Congress  shall  also  have  power  to  prohibit  the  intro- 
duction of  slaves  from  any  State  not  a  member  of,  or  Terri- 
Tory  not  belonging  to,  this  Confederacy. 

3.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not 
be  suspended,  unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion, 
the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

4.  No  bill  of  attainder,  e.v  post  facto  law,  or  law  denying 
or  impairing  the  right  of  property  in  negro  slaves,  shall  be 
passed. 

5.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  .l)e  laid,  unless 
in  proportion  to  the  census  or  emimeration  hereinbefore 
directed  to  be  taken. 

6.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from 
any  State,  except  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses. 

7.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of 
commerce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those 
of  another. 

8.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law  ;  and  a  regu- 
lar statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures 
of  all  public  money   shall  be   published  from  time  to  time. 

9.  Congress  shall  appropriate  no  money  from  the  treasu- 
ry except  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses,  taken  by 
yeas  and  nays,  unless  it  be  asked  and  estimated  for  by  some 
one  of  tiie  heads  of  Department,  and  submitted  to  Con- 
gress by  the  President ;  or  for  the  purpose  of  paying  its 
own  expenses  and  contingencies;  or  for  the  payment  of 
claims  against  the  Confederate  States,  the  justice  of  which 
shall  have  been  judicially  declared  by  a  tribunal  for  the 
investigation  of  claims  against  the  goverrynent,  which  it  is 
hereby  made  the  duty  of  Congress  to  establish. 

10.  All  bills  appropriating  money  shall  specify  in  federal 
currency,  the  exact  amount  of  each  appropriation,  and  the 
purposes  for  which  it  is  made  ;  and  Congress  shall  grant  no . 
extra  compensation  to  any  public  contractor,  officer,  agent 
or  servant,  after  such  contract  shall  have  been  made  or 
such  service  rendered. 

11.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  Confed- 
erate States;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 


11 

accept   of  any  present,  emolument,   office  or  title  of  any 
kind  whatever  from  any  king,  prince  or  foreign  State. 

12.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof, 
or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  the 
right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble  and  petition  the 
government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

13.  A  well  regulated  militia  being  neceessary  to  the 
security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and 
bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

14.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any 
house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner ;  nor  in  time  of 
war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

15.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers  and  effects  against  unreasonable  searches 
and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated;  and  no  warrants  shall 
issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  af- 
firmation, and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  search- 
ed, and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

16.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or 
otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the 
land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  ser- 
vice, in  time  of  war  or  public  danger  ;  nor  shall  any  person 
be  subject  for  the  same  ofl'ence,  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy 
of  life  or  limb;  nor  be  compelled,  in  any  criminal  case,  to 
be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liber- 
ty, or  property,  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall 
private  jiroperty  to  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just 
compensation. 

17.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy 
the  light  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury 
of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been 
committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascer- 
tained by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause 
of  the  accusation;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses 
against  him ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining 
witnesses  in  his  favor;  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  couii- 
ael  for  his  defence. 

18.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  contro- 
Tersy  shall    exceed    twenty   dollars,   the  right   of  trial  by 


12 

jury  shall  be  preserved  ;  and  no  fact  so  tried  by  a  jury 
shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, than  according  to  the  rules  of  the   common  law. 

19.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

20.  Every  law,  or  resolution  having  the  force  of  law, 
shall  relate  to  but  one  subject,  and  that  shall  be  expressed 
in  the  title. 


Section   10. 

1.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  con- 
federation ;  grant  letters  t»f  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin 
money;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in 
payment  of  debts  ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex  post f ado 
law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts  ;  or  grant 
any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress; 
lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspec- 
tion laws;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts, 
laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use 
of  the  treasury  of  the  Confederate  States  ;  and  all  such  laws 
shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay 
any  duty  on  tonnage,  except  on  sea-going  vessels,  for  the 
improvement  of  its  rivers  and  harbors  navigated  by  the  said 
vessels  ;  but  such  duties  shall  not  conflict  with  any  treaties 
of  the  Confederate  States  with  foreign  nations ;  and  any 
surplus  revenue  thus  derived,  shall,  after  making  such  im- 
provement, be  paid  into  the  common  treasury.  Nor  shall 
any  State  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  en- 
ter into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State,  or 
with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  fctually  in- 
vaded, or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  de- 
lay. But  when  any  river  divides  or  flows  through  two  or 
more  States,  they  may  enter  into  compacts  with  each  other 
to  improve  the  navigation  thereof 


13 

ARTICLE    II. 

Section  ]. 

i.  The  cxecutivo  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  ol" 
the  Confederate  States  of  AiiH>rica.  He  and  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent shall  hold  their  offices  lor  the  term  of  six  years  :  but 
the  President  shall  not  be  re-eligible.  The  President  and 
Vice-President  shall  be  elected  as  follows  : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legis- 
hiture  thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors  equal  to  the 
whole  number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the 
State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress;  but  no  Senator  or 
Representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit 
imder  the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elec- 
tor. 

3.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of 
whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State 
with  tliemselves;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  per- 
son voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct 
lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for 
each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit, 
o^ealed,  to  the  scat  of  the  government  of  the  Confederate 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate  ;  the  Presi- 
•lent  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates, 
rtnd  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted,  the  person  hav- 
ing the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be 
the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
nundjer  of  electors  appointed  ;  and  if  no  person  have  such 
majority,  then,  from  the  persons  liaving  the  highest  num- 
bers, not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  os 
President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  clioose  imme- 
diately, by  ballot,  the  President.  Rut  in  choosing  the  Presi- 
dent, the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation 
from  each  State  having  one  vote  ;  a  quoriun  for  this  purpose 
shall  consist  f)f  a  nieujber  or  members  from  two-thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  neces- 
s«ry  to  a  choice.     And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 


14: 

not  choose  a  President,  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall 
devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  fol- 
lowing, then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  la 
case  of  the  death,  or  other  constitutional  disabilty  of  the 
President. 

4.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as 
Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number 
be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ; 
and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest 
numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall  clioose  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of 
the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

5.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office 
of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the 
Confederate  States. 

6.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes  ; 
which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  Confederate 
States. 

7.  No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  or  a  citizen  thereof  at  the  time  of  the  adop- 
tion ot  this  Constitution,  or  a  citizen  thereof  born  in  the 
United  States  prior  to  the  20th  of  December,  ISGO ,  shall  be 
eligible  to  the  office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person 
be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  the  age 
of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  with- 
in the  limits  of  the  Confederate  States,  as  they  may  exist  at 
the  time  of  his  election. 

S.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or 
of  his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  pow- 
ers and  duties  of  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the 
Vice-President;  and  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  provide  for 
the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation  or  inability  both  of 
the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer 
shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accor- 
dingly until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be 
elected. 

9.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation,  w^hich  shall  neither  be  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  period   for   which  he   shall  have 


15 

been  elected  ;  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period 
any  other  eniolunient  from  the  Confederate  States,  or  any  of 
them. 

10.  Before  he  enters  on  the  execntiou  of  his  office,  he 
shall  take  the  followin;^-  oath  or  aftirrnation  : 

•'  I  do  solemnly  s\\'ear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  ex- 
cute  the  office  of  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend 
the  Constitution  thereof." 

Section  2. 

1.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  of  the  militiii 
of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service  ol" 
the  Confederate  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writ- 
ing, of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  Executive  De- 
partments, upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices;  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  re- 
prieves and  pardons  for  oftences  against  the  Confederate 
States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of 
the  Senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  Confede- 
rate States,  whose  appointments  are  not  lu'rei;i  otherwise 
provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  l)y  law  ;  but 
the  Congress  may,  by  lavv,  vest  the  appointment  of  such  in- 
ferior olhcers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone, 
in  courts  of  lavv  or  in  the  heads  of  Departments. 

3.  The  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  Executive  Depart- 
ments, and  all  persons  connected  with  the  diplomatic  ser- 
vice, may  be  rtMJioved  from  (tffice  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Pre- 
sident. All  other  civil  officers  of  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment may  be  n-moved  at  any  time  by  the  President,  or  oth- 
er apjK»inting  power,  when  tlieir  services  are  unnecessary, 
or  for  dishonesty,  incajiacity,  inetHcirncy,  misconduct  or 
neglect  of  duty  ;  and  when  so  removed,  the  removal  shall 
be  reported  to  the  Senate,  together  with  the  reasons  there- 
for. • 


IG       . 

4.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  till  all  vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  grant- 
ing commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next 
session  ;  but  no  person  rejected  by  the  Senate  shall  be  re- 
appointed to  the  same  othce  during  their  ensuing  recess. 

Section  :3. 

1.  The  President  shall  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the 
Congress  information  of  the  state  of  the.  Confederacy,  and 
recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  sliall 
judge  necessary  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary 
occasions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  tliem  :  and  in 
case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect  to  the 
time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as 
he  shall  think  proper ;  lie  shall  receive  ambassadors  and 
other  public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be 
faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of 
the  Confederate  States. 

Section  4. 

1.  The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of 
the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  im- 
peachment for,  and  conviction  of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE    III. 
Section  1. 

1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be 
vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  Inferior  Courts 
as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establisli. 
The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  Inferior  Courts,  shall 
hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 
times  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation  which  shall 
not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  2. 

1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  arising  nn- 
derthis  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 


17 

treaties  made  or  which  sliall  be  made  under  then-  authority; 
to  all  cases  afl'ecting  ambassadors,  other  public  mmisters 
and  consuls  ;  to  all  cases  ol'  admiralty  and  maritime  juris- 
diction ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  Confederate  States 
ghall  be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more 
States;  between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another  State  where 
the  State  is  plaintiff,  between  citizens  claiming  lands  under 
grants  of  ditferent  States,  and  between  a  State  or  the  citizens 
thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens  or  subjects  ;  but  no 
State  shall  bo  sued  by  a  citizen  or  subject  of  any  foreign 

State. 

2.  In  all  caseiailecting  ambassiadors,  other  public  niinistera 
and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party.the 
Supreme  Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the 
other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have 
appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  ex- 
ceptions, and  under  such  regulations,  as  the  Congress  shall 

make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment, 
shall  be  by  jury,  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State 
where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed  ;  but  when 
not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such 
place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  direct- 
ed. 

Section  3. 

1.  Treason  against  the  Confederate  States  shall  consist 
only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be 
convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  wit- 
nesses to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open 
court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punish- 
ment of  treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  cor- 
ruption of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the 
person  attainted. 


18 

ARTICLE    IV. 

Section  1. 

1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to 
the  public  acts,  records  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every 
other  State.  And  the  Congress  may,  by  general  laws,  pre- 
scribe the  manner  in  v^^hich  such  acts,  i-ecords,  and  proceed- 
ings shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  2. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States, 
and  shall  have  the  right  of  transit  and  sojourn  in  any  State 
of  this  Confederacy,  with  their  slaves  and  other  property  ; 
and  the  right  of  property  in  said  slaves  shall  not  be  thereby 
impaired, 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  vi^ith  treason,  felony, 
or  other  crime  against  the  laws  of  such  State,  who  shall  flee 
from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand 
of  the  Executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled, 
be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  crime. 

3.  No  slave  or  other  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  any 
State  or  Territory  of  the  Confederate  States,  under  the  laws 
thereof,  escaping  or  lawfully  carried  into  another,  shall,  in 
consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged 
from  such  service  or  labor;  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on 
claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  slave  belongs,  or  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  3. 

1.  Other  States  may  be  admitted  into  this  Confederacy 
by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  two-thirds  of  the  Senate,  the  Senate  voting  by 
States ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed 
by  the  junction  of  tvi^o  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  con- 
cerned as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 


19 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  concerning  the  property  of 
the  Confederate  States,  including  the  lands  thereof. 

3.  The  Confederate  States  may  acquire  new  territory, 
and  Congress  shall  have  power  to  legislate  and  provide  gov- 
ernments for  the  inhabitants' of  all  territory  belonging  to 
the  Confederate  States,  lying  without  the  limits  of  the  sev- 
eral States ;  and  may  permit  them,  at  such  times,  and  in 
such  manner  as  it  may  by  law  provide,  to  form  States  to  be 
admitted  into  the  Confederacy.  In  all  such  territory,  the 
institution  of  negro  slavery  as  it  now  exists  in  the  Confed- 
erate States,  shall  be  recognized  and  protected  by  Congress, 
and  by  the  territorial  government;  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  several  Confederate  States  and  Territories,  shall  have 
the  right  to  take  to  such  territory  any  slaves,  lawfully  held 
by  them  in  any  of  the  States  or  Territories  of  the  Confede- 
rate States. 

4.  The  Confederate  States  shall  guaranty  to  every  State 
that  now  is  or  hereafter  may  become  a  member  of  this  Con- 
federacy, a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  pro- 
tect each  of  them  against  invasion;  and  on  application  of 
the  Legislature  (or  of  the  Executive  when  the  legislature  is 
not  in  session)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

Section  1. 

1.  Upon  the  demand  of  any  three  States,  legally  assem- 
bled in  their  several  conventions,  the  Congress  shall  summon 
a  convention  of  all  the  States,  to  tnke  into  consideration 
such  amendments  to  the  Constitution  as  the  said  States  shall 
concur  in  suggesting  at  the  time  when  the  said  demand  is 
made;  and  should  any  of  the  proposed  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  be  agreed  on  by  tlie  said  convention — voting 
by  States — and  the  same  be  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of 
two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  two- 
thirds  thereof — as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification 
may  be  proposed  by  the  general  convention — they  shall 
thenceforward  form  a  part  of  this  Constitution.  But  no 
State  shall,  without  its  consent,  be  deprived  of  its  equal 
representation  in  the  Senate. 


20 

ARTICLE  n. 

1.  The  govenimeiit  established  by  this  Constitution  is 
successor  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  the  Confede- 
rate States  of  America ;  and  all  the  laws  passed  by  the  lat- 
ter shall  continue  in  force  until  the  same  shall  be  repealed 
or  modified ;  and  all  the  officers  appointed  by  the  same  shall 
remain  in  office  until  their  successors  ^are  appointed  and 
qualified,  or  the  offices  abolished. 

2.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  be- 
fore the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  shall  be  as  valid 
against  the  Confederate  States  under  this  Constitution  as 
under  the  Provisional  Government. 

3.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  Confederate 
States,  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  Confederate 
States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the 
judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in 
the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 

4.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned, 
and  the  members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all 
executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the  Confederate 
States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or 
affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no  religious 
test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or 
public  trust  under  the  Confederate  States. 

5.  The  enumeration,  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained 
by  the  people  of  the  several  States. 

6.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  Confederate  States 
by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States,  respectively,  or  the  people  thereof. 

ARTICLE  VIL 

1.  The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  five  States  shall 
be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  be- 
tween the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

2.  When  five  States  shall  have  ratified  this  Constitution, 
in  the  manner  before  specified,  the  Congress  under  the  Pro- 
visional Constitution,  shall  prescribe  the  time  for  holding 


31 

the  election  of  President  and  Vice-President;  and  for  the 
meeting  of  the  Electoral  College ;  and  for  counting  the 
votes,  and  inaugurating  the  President.  They  shall  also 
prescribe  the  time  for  holding  the  first  election  of  members 
of  Congress  under  this  Constitution,  and  the  time  for  assem- 
bling the  same.  Until  the  assembling  of  such  Congress, 
the  Congress  under  the  Provisional  Constitution  shall  con- 
tinue to  exercise  the  legislative  powers  granted  them ;  not 
extending  beyond  the  time  limited  by  the  Constitution  of 
the  Provisional  Government. 


23 
EXTRACT  FROM  THE   JOURNAL  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


Congress,  March  11,  1S61. 

On  the  question  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  Confederate  States  of  America,  the  vote  was  taken  by 
yeas  and  nays  ;  and  the  Constitution  was  unanimously 
adopted,  as  follows: 

Those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  being  Messrs.  Walk- 
er, Smith,  Curry,  Hale,  McRae,  Shorter  and  Fearn,  of 
Alabama,  (Messrs.  Chilton  and  Lewis  being  absent ;)  Messrs. 
Morton,  Anderson  and  Owens,  of  Florida  ;  Messrs.  Toombs, 
Howell  Cobb,  Bartow,  Nisbet,  Hill,  Wright,  Thomas  R. 
R.  Cobb  and  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  (Messrs.  Crawford  and 
Kenan  being  absent ;)  Messrs.  Perkins,  de  Clouet,  Conrad, 
Kenner,  Sparrow  and  Marshall,  of  Louisiana ;  Messrs. 
Harris,  Brooke,  Wilson,  Clayton,  Barry  and  Harrison,  of 
Mississippi,  (Mr.  Campbell  being  absent) ;  Messrs.  Rhett, 
Barnwell,  Keitt,  Chesnut,  Memminger,  Mills,  Withers  and 
Boyce,  of  South  Carolina ;  Messrs.  Reagan,  Hemphill, 
Waul,  Gregg,  Oldham  and  Ochiltree,  of  Texas,  (Mr.  Wig- 
fall  being  absent.) 

A  true  copy:  J.  J.  HOOPER. 

Secretary  of  the  Congress. 


Congress,  March  11,  1861. 
I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  are,  respectively, 
true  and  correct  copies  of  "  The  Constitution  of  the  Con- 
federate States  of  America,"  unanimously  adopted  this 
day,  and  of  the  yeas  and  nays,  on  the  question  of  the 
adoption  thereof. 

OWELL  COBB, 
President  of  the  Congress. 


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